Three Virginia GOP Reps Join Dems to Restore Govt Workers' Pay

Three Republican Virginia House members have joined with almost 30 House Democrats to sponsor a bill that would give government workers furloughed during the shutdown their full pay.

The three Republicans — Scott Rigell, Rob Wittman, and Frank Wolf — have thousands of constituents who work for the federal government, The Hill reports.

The workers need congressional approval for retroactive pay, hence the bill introduced by another Virginian, Democrat Jim Moran. They shouldn't have to pay for Congress' inability to agree on a budget, he said, according to The Hill.

"Nearly 1 million federal workers could lose their pay because Congress failed to do its job and keep the government up and running," Moran said.

The White House calculates that the shutdown could furlough as many as 800,000 federal workers.

"Our hardworking federal workforce — middle-class Americans who support our war fighters, defend our borders, keep our air clean and food safe, care for our veterans and fulfill many other critical services — should not have to face furloughs," Minority Whip Steny Hoyer said according to The Hill. Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat who also has thousands of government workers in his constituency is a co-sponsor of the bill.

There is no clear path at this point for Congress to solve its spending impasse.